At long last, it is my pleasure to announce the results of the first TeamLiquid Map Contest. As you all know, there was a public vote and a staff vote to determine the winning maps in this contest. The votes would count equally, except in the case of a tie when we would use the public vote to decide how to break the tie. Fortunately there was a clear winner, clear second and clear third but a tie for fourth where the public vote was used to break the tie.
Don't forget that thanks to Blizzard, the top five will receive a Razer peripherals package which includes a Marauder StarCraft II Gaming keyboard, Banshee StarCraft II Gaming Headset, Spectre StarCraft II Gaming Mouse and the StarCraft II Zerg Edition Messenger bag. In addition to the Razer peripherals package, winning entry can select one of the following additional prizes; a signed Collector’s Edition of StarCraft 2, a signed Jim Raynor StarCraft 2 cardboard standup and a signed StarCraft II Poster. The second place entry can select one of the remaining two entries, and the third place will be given the remaining entry.
Without delaying this any longer, here are the winning maps! (You can find the results of the staff and public poll at the end of this post).
The Top Five
(2) Haven's Lagoon
(3) Sanctuary
By Timetwister22
By grebliv and ESV
It was a tight race for 4th and 5th but these two maps narrowly beat out 6th place. Both are highly original. Sanctuary is one of the best 3 player maps that has been made and allows for both macro play and aggressive play. There is an emphasis on controlling key points on the map, which makes it a map that better players can exploit to their advantage. Haven's Lagoon was one of the most controversial picks of the TLMC finalists, and rightfully so! It's a very unique map. The map proved to be a hit with players as it proved to be one of the most enjoyable maps in the pool. It hasn't been easy, but this map fully deserves its top five placing.
Third Place
Korhal Compound
By monitor and ESV
This result may shock you, but Korhal Compound was the overwhelming staff favorite. After the first day of voting it obtained an insurmountable lead which only kept increasing. Why did the staff like this map so much? Probably because of the natural flow of the expansion layout, the ability to play a straight up macro game as well as the importance of army positioning. The map isn't an obvious winner, but is no doubt a solid map and one on which many great games can be had.
Second Place
Ohana
By IronmanSC and TPW
This is probably the second surprise of the tournament! While being the public favorite, it didn't have the same appeal on the staff vote and thus won second place. But let's face it, this is a glorious map! Not only is it one of the most aesthetically pleasing maps but the layout and design of the map makes it one of the more technical maps in the TLMC. The high quality of games on the map left a lasting impression on the public and it came oh so close to winning the whole thing. With that said, this map is an achievement of map architecture, design and aesthetics and a very strong second place.
The TLMC Winner
Cloud Kingdom
By SUPEROUMAN and ESV
It may not have won the public vote or the staff vote, but coming second in both polls sends a pretty clear message that this map is good. Why did this map score so highly? Because of its incredibly clever design. The map forces you to choose where to engage very carefully and can allow you to defend highly aggressive plays with good positioning. It is a map where good players can shine, and great players can dominate. It is everything you could want in a map and then some.
I had a moment to catch up with SUPEROUMAN right before this post went live for a quick interview.
Hi SUPEROUMAN, can you tell us a little bit about yourself for those who don't know you?
Hi! I'm SUPEROUMAN, I started to make maps 5 years ago on broodwarmaps.net website. I started to make SC2 maps from the beta and I am now in the ESVTV map-making team.
So how did you get into mapping?
I was always attracted to building games like Simcity or Roller Coaster Tycoon. After some time, I discovered StarCraft: Brood War and the editor and I kept building landspace in it. Then I heard about the competitive scene and all the interesting thing about maps and at the end I started to make maps that dictate gameplay, which wasn't great ^^. When SC2 came out, I nearly opened the editor first to see what are the possibilities with it.
Did you make any interesting maps during your time as an SC1 mapper?
I made two maps which got into the iCCup map pool, Shine and Texcoco, you can find both of these maps on Broodwarmaps.net.
How has your mapping career been in SC2 so far?
My major accomplishment in SC2 is MLG Testbug, sadly hated by all the Protoss, but I learnt the most through this map.
What did you learn exactly?
I understood the way the natural works with the 3rd base which is an important thing to know in order to think outside the box without breaking the mapping standards.
So what was the inspiration for Cloud Kingdom?
My goal with this map is area control, in order to do so, I wanted to make a map with many defensive features such as the main chokes and ramps leading to large areas where a player can defend easily while still being in the middle. Also, the nat/third setup is done in a way to let a player who is a little bit behind to still recover. However, if you are a lot behind, the map can help you a little bit but it's still hard which is normal. I will try to enhance the area control feature in my future maps
Cloud Kingdom has seen some gameplay in the ESV weekly as well, how is that going?
Thanks to the defensive abilities of the map, the majority of the games are awesome so far, they rarely last less than 10 minutes, even PvPs! These games pointed some issues for ZvP in the area next to the 4th, that area was too choked to let the Zerg defend properly that base. I made some edits and I think it's fine now.
What is your opinion on the trend away from gold minerals?
I think it's a good thing because it can give a huge economic advantage to the player who has map control and that expand and also of mules which is one of the reasons why Terrans were dominating the GSL.
How do you feel about the current state of mapping?
Oh man, this is the golden age of the foreign map-making and it's only the beginning! In brood war, the map-making was fully controlled by Koreans and it's so amazing to be able to breathe freely now.
Breathe freely?
I mean we have a lot of opportunities to have maps in major tournaments like ESL or MLG. There is also the apparition of these kind of contest with prizes, this contest, the IPL one and now even Map of the Month have prizes thanks to ESL. And in all of them the prizes are around 400€ in hardware for each contests.
So you think the future is very bright for mappers?
Absolutely, it can only become better and better!
That's good to hear, any last words?
I'd like to thank everyone making mapping contests, my buddies on broodwarmaps.net, my team mates in ESVTV map-making team, our boss Diamond who does an amazing job behind the scenes and for the first time I have the possibility to say, thanks our sponsor Steelseries! And there you have it! The first TeamLiquid map contest is over. Despite all concerns about aesthetics being the dominant factor in voting, the final map listing is very close to what the judges initially thought. So we're very happy with how the tournament has played out. I hope you enjoyed the TLAF TLOpen on these maps and the contest itself and I hope we are able to do this again in the future.
Special thanks to The Little App Factory for their sponsorship of the TLOpen held on these maps. Their support allowed the tournament to be a huge success and we saw some awesome games on these fresh and exciting maps.
So this will be picked up into the ladder pool not next season but the season after that one? And without any stupid ladder edition changes by Blizzard?
i love these maps, but it frustrates me that the ladder will not include them. or if they do it will take blizz 4eva to implement them. blah. GOOD JOB!
Now all that's left is to make the 3 and 9 o'clock bases golds, add rocks at the top left and bottom right bases, as well as at the natural choke, and add highground next to the natural to make the map ladder-ready!
On December 19 2011 06:13 Termit wrote: So this will be picked up into the ladder pool not next season but the season after that one? And without any stupid ladder edition changes by Blizzard?
There are no guarantees that any of these maps will make the ladder or that these maps will be in S5, S6 or even S7. We'll just have to wait and see.
While the comment is technically true. I think we all win.
The top three could all easily be adopted by any tournament organiser that wanted to stand out, be brave and push the standards forward. And while three might be too much for one tournament for any of the majors, I would be disappointed if we did not see them start to trickle in.
Amazing effort. And much needed visibility and recognition for people who can really help the tournament scene move forward.
While the comment is technically true. I think we all win.
The top three could all easily be adopted by any tournament organiser that wanted to stand out, be brave and push the standards forward. And while three might be too much for one tournament for any of the majors, I would be disappointed if we did not see them start to trickle in.
Amazing effort. And much needed visibility and recognition for people who can really help the tournament scene move forward.
You are 100% correct, but the competitive side of me took over for a minute hehe!
It's like winning a LAN for a team, this was the biggest mapping tournament in SC2 and we rocked it!
While I felt Ohana was definitely considerable, I felt that Cloud Kingdom had a little more edge and I think it definitely deserved the winning spot. Getting 2nd place is still damn good to me though
As a map-making community, we've come a long way in such a short amount of time, but let's take this moment to reflect that foreign map-makers are getting spotlighted more, so there is not only a bright future, but an equal chance for all of us out there.
I hope blizzard uses any of the 3 top maps for ladder! Good job ESV as well, TPW is right behind you
Congrats to all the finalists. I'm super please with these, and looking forward to see Cloud Kingdom -- and the others, but especially CK as it was my favorite -- in tournaments to come!
I loved Cloud Kingdom at Korean Weekly (I think it was Jinro agains anonther Terran). My only complainment would be that it looked quite boring in game. So grey in grey, the different colours didn´t came out in the broadcast for me. But the layout was fantastic so gratz for the win!
How Korhal Compound can finish last in public vote is beyond me, the map is amazing! Would have loved to see Burning Altar in up there as well, but well we all have our opinions.
gg everyone Was a nice contest and Cloud Kingdom deserves its spot! It's the most complicated high level 2p map I have ever seen but it's brilliant and also aesthetically unique.
I noticed that Twilight Peaks was pretty imba and in a way bad design some time ago so I'm not at all surprised to see it last in the staff vote But I (as others) have learned and improved since then and will keep making better maps.
I rly wish the public poll didn't have such a big impact. I feel the opinion of most of the community... well... can't really be trusted. I don't understand how Burning Altar can be 3rd in staff vote and don't make top5 :/ I hope this INCREDIBLE middle design will inspire other maps in the future.
gg everyone Was a nice contest and Cloud Kingdom deserves its spot! It's the most complicated high level 2p map I have ever seen but it's brilliant and also aesthetically unique.
I noticed that Twilight Peaks was pretty imba and in a way bad design some time ago so I'm not at all surprised to see it last in the staff vote But I (as others) have learned and improved since then and will keep making better maps.
I rly wish the public poll didn't have such a big impact. I feel the opinion of most of the community... well... can't really be trusted. I don't understand how Burning Altar can be 3rd in staff vote and don't make top5 :/ I hope this INCREDIBLE middle design will inspire other maps in the future.
thx for mentioning BA going 3 and 6 and still ending out of top5. i can live with it, but it is a bit strange really. i will keep on developing that map and balance it and hope some tournamnet gives it a chance as it was chosen by the pros really often. also i will make sure to make the base integral part of a 16base map asap.
we can only hope Blizzard adds this beauty to the pool. Or, at the very least, GSL/Dreamhack/MLG catch wind of this because I'm tired of seeing games on Bel'shir, Dual Site, Crossfire, and Shakuras.
I'm really, really happy with these results. (Although I still would have preferred Daggoths Crater over Korhal Compound) Now please add one of the top 3 into the ladder pool, Bliz. =)
Congrats to the winner and all the mapmakers. Now all that needs to happen is for the major tournaments to adopt these maps and put them into the pool.
On December 19 2011 06:16 Whynaut wrote: Now all that's left is to make the 3 and 9 o'clock bases golds, add rocks at the top left and bottom right bases, as well as at the natural choke, and add highground next to the natural to make the map ladder-ready!
I mean, even if these maps don't get on ladder, they could get picked by various tournaments, right ? MLG Cloud Kingdom, IPL Burning Altar, NASL Ohana or ESL Burning Altar...
Also some people on Reddit are asking about how they can help get these in tournaments, I listed some of the important people on there, but will copy it here for you. If you like these maps feel free to Tweet these people to try and get them in tournaments.
Is there any tournament that has used, is using or will be using any of these maps in their pool? If so, can someone please inform me which ones they are as these are all splendid maps.
Just throwing this out there, I think it's officially time for the Prime/Crux Monopoly to end now with foreign maps smashing this contest. There is no longer any excuse to only use their maps, including for the GSL.
If you guys want change even 1% as bad as I do, please send out a tweet or email or something to these tournaments and let them know you want a diverse and GLOBAL map pool.
Also some people on Reddit are asking about how they can help get these in tournaments, I listed some of the important people on there, but will copy it here for you. If you like these maps feel free to Tweet these people to try and get them in tournaments.
On December 19 2011 07:28 Diamond wrote: Just throwing this out there, I think it's officially time for the Prime/Crux Monopoly to end now with foreign maps smashing this contest. There is no longer any excuse to only use their maps, including for the GSL.
If you guys want change even 1% as bad as I do, please send out a tweet or email or something to these tournaments and let them know you want a diverse and GLOBAL map pool.
Also some people on Reddit are asking about how they can help get these in tournaments, I listed some of the important people on there, but will copy it here for you. If you like these maps feel free to Tweet these people to try and get them in tournaments.
Can't agree with this enough. The more people can make organizers realize how much they care about the map pool, the less apathetic about they will be, and the less likely they will be to just give the same ol shit maps the nod.
On December 19 2011 07:28 Diamond wrote: Just throwing this out there, I think it's officially time for the Prime/Crux Monopoly to end now with foreign maps smashing this contest. There is no longer any excuse to only use their maps, including for the GSL.
If you guys want change even 1% as bad as I do, please send out a tweet or email or something to these tournaments and let them know you want a diverse and GLOBAL map pool.
Also some people on Reddit are asking about how they can help get these in tournaments, I listed some of the important people on there, but will copy it here for you. If you like these maps feel free to Tweet these people to try and get them in tournaments.
On December 19 2011 07:28 Diamond wrote: Just throwing this out there, I think it's officially time for the Prime/Crux Monopoly to end now with foreign maps smashing this contest. There is no longer any excuse to only use their maps, including for the GSL.
If you guys want change even 1% as bad as I do, please send out a tweet or email or something to these tournaments and let them know you want a diverse and GLOBAL map pool.
Also some people on Reddit are asking about how they can help get these in tournaments, I listed some of the important people on there, but will copy it here for you. If you like these maps feel free to Tweet these people to try and get them in tournaments.
On December 19 2011 08:00 tuho12345 wrote: Cloud Kingdom will create a split map situation in TvT I afraid. Also the third isn't really to defend as Protoss. Overall I'm excited to try it out
I think it will actually be quite interesting because of the high-ground in the middle. Any tank stalemate will have a high ground in between, or if one player has the high ground they can probably push back the opponent.
On December 19 2011 06:13 Golgotha wrote: i love these maps, but it frustrates me that the ladder will not include them. or if they do it will take blizz 4eva to implement them. blah. GOOD JOB!
I think they said they would include it at one point, but yeah it would take a while
Congrats to the winners, As someone who really enjoyed Korhal compound but saw it languishing in the public vote I'm happily surprised with it's placing.
I must admit, I have never felt instant "jealousy" as much as I did when I FIRST looked at Cloud Kingdom. I've never seen a map so easily recognizable as badass. The main thing that lessened it's value in my mind (it was my #3) was that I was feeling a little bit of circle syndrome (One potential third is on the enemy's half of the central map width split). But I think I wasn't paying attention to just how small the central map width is (smaller width = helps cure circle syndrome) - considering this and upon examining once again I'm ready to call the symptom highly forgivable and in fact part of the map's concept (indeed it's almost needed to balance the small width).
You know what... I think Cloud Kingdom is my new favorite map lol >.< For more reasons than I'm explaining here. And I truly mean this objectively, I promise I'm not just goin with the flow :D
This might sound silly, I don't plan on giving supporting reasons, and I'm really the only one who will understand it right now (not explaining it fully), but I think this is one of the most forward-looking maps I have seen. Soon I will be writing an article calling for and explaining an entirely new style of mapmaking (and why it's the style we should have been using all along). Anyways what I'm saying is that before this "new" style gets used, Cloud Kingdom is about as close as you can get to this "new" style while still using the "old" style. This is a huge compliment to Superouman, I hope he agrees with what I have to say in the article when it's made.
gratz to the winner, was actually my second choice after ohana (i guess that makes me a sheep or something) but it was a very close decision for me and i do think that this map deserves the win considering more experienced players obviously favor it over ohana.
Yeah they are all badass maps. I played on Cloud Kingdom with some friends and its pretty balanced, I must say. I like the concept. Congratulations to the winners!
I think it's incredibly hard to judge maps without having seen enough good play on them, as the games that get played on a map are more often result of the players' mood then the map imo if they didn't specifically prepare much for it. Many abuses and tiny things that can make or break a map are simply take some time to find out usually, like how easy it is to FFE, what can of proxy and siege positionings are there and what overlord spots are there etc. Nevertheless the winning map looks good but I can't say much about it yet without seeing more play on it and playing it myself.
The fact the staff and public vote differ quite a lot is quite a bad sign by the way. This means that there is a lot of variance in the outcome of the votings. This means that the eventual top 5 isn't a very reliable result and you can't really draw too much conclusions about how the general acceptance of these maps will be.
I like all of them. I actually reaaaaaaallly like Haven's Lagoon. I hope Blizzard just puts all of them into the next ladder pool and does this kind of thing seasonly. Their maps are so boring and so slow to rotate. D:
All of the maps are amazing, and who else but the best map makers around winning the contest! Congratulations to ESV, SUPEROUMAN, and everyone who made it to the Top 5!
On December 19 2011 06:13 Golgotha wrote: i love these maps, but it frustrates me that the ladder will not include them. or if they do it will take blizz 4eva to implement them. blah. GOOD JOB!
I think they said they would include it at one point, but yeah it would take a while
Not going to go looking for a direct quote but I believe Blizzard mentioned that they would ‘consider’ these maps for future ladder pools (not season 5 though). So could be one, multiple or indeed none, so don’t go getting your hopes up. Have a little faith though, Tal’dareim (got a feeling I’ve totally botched that spelling) is a non-Blizzard map that impressed them enough to make it in, so it is certainly possible.
You can’t blame Blizzard for not having them in season 5 though, it has practically begun (just a couple more days) and these maps only received heavy publicity about a fortnight ago. I’m guessing Blizz themselves have to analyse the map to see if it can be deemed ladder worthy (although how Searing Crater made it passed screening I’ll never know).
Am I the only one who thinks that Sanctuary was one of the coolest maps? I agree with Cloud Kingdom for first place (not only the best aesthetically, but also an interesting layout). Maybe it's just that I'm partial to 3 Spawn maps, but I think that Sanctuary's middle layout created some really interesting movement. I don't know, that was just my thoughts, but I was surprised that it placed so lowly.
The featured replay of Cloud Kingdom (ZvT) showed it's terran favored by design. The zerg had more than half of the map and kept the terran on 3 bases but failed to break into the siege tanks line. Eventually the zerg and terran traded armies but the siege tanks on the high ground didn't take damage. The game was good from a spectator's point of view but the terran should never have been able to win that game. He won thanks to the map design.
Also I find it kind of funny that the staff that picked Heaven's lagoon downvoted it in the final poll. It shows how random people's opinion can be, even higly qualified people's opinion.
Awesome, cloud kingdom! I've been enjoying games on that watching ESV.tv for a long time now. Good work superouman! I really hope this get into ladder rotation!
i'm sure someone has mentioned it, but it seems like staff and public votes [except for Cloud Kingdom] are polar opposites in some cases, Korhal compound is 1 and 7 respectively, Burning alter 3 and 6, and havens lagoon 6 and 3.
On December 19 2011 12:05 WightyCity wrote: great maps. this should be a monthly thing
Agreed. Monthly (or even once every two months) would be awesome. But we have something similar, check out Map of the Month - Winter, it has awesome prizes (winner gets into IEM).
On December 19 2011 06:34 Ragoo wrote: gg everyone Was a nice contest and Cloud Kingdom deserves its spot! It's the most complicated high level 2p map I have ever seen but it's brilliant and also aesthetically unique.
I noticed that Twilight Peaks was pretty imba and in a way bad design some time ago so I'm not at all surprised to see it last in the staff vote But I (as others) have learned and improved since then and will keep making better maps.
I rly wish the public poll didn't have such a big impact. I feel the opinion of most of the community... well... can't really be trusted. I don't understand how Burning Altar can be 3rd in staff vote and don't make top5 :/ I hope this INCREDIBLE middle design will inspire other maps in the future.
Well, whether the public can "be trusted" or not, the TL community is not all about expert mapmakers and expert progamers. And in reference to Burning Altar, a lot of us public spectators witnessed some serious Terran abuse of those ledges near the third (the game vs Destiny) and I wasn't impressed how close the high ground was to the other expansion--the action gravitated to that point and that point was close enough that a tank could shell a hatchery/CC/Nexus.
tl;dr The public can't be trusted is a maxim that favors elites and experts. Most of the elites and experts I know are equally as flawed and biased as the public. In fact, they are a part of the public.
On December 19 2011 07:24 [17]Purple wrote: Is there any tournament that has used, is using or will be using any of these maps in their pool? If so, can someone please inform me which ones they are as these are all splendid maps.
Ohana <3 Nothing wrong with a great map that also pleases the eyes. And grats to Cloud Kingdom, i was kinda afraid all those chokes would be very zerg unfriendly.
On December 19 2011 14:10 Sea_Food wrote: Can we all now agree that 12 base 4 player maps just cant work and are terrible? Still baffeled how 2 of those made the top 7.
Very true. The place positioning in relation to the overall map (distances) is flawed on Burning Altar and Twilight Peaks. So is the base placement on maps like Antiga Shipyard or Nerazim Crypt with the 3rd close by. But that is - as you said - due to 12 base 4p rotational not working. I won't do this in the future I think.
On December 19 2011 14:10 Sea_Food wrote: Can we all now agree that 12 base 4 player maps just cant work and are terrible? Still baffeled how 2 of those made the top 7.
Very true. The place positioning in relation to the overall map (distances) is flawed on Burning Altar and Twilight Peaks. So is the base placement on maps like Antiga Shipyard or Nerazim Crypt with the 3rd close by. But that is - as you said - due to 12 base 4p rotational not working. I won't do this in the future I think.
Do not feed the troll. We both know why our maps did not do better. The flaws are known (among evil experts and players). In the case of BA it is easy to be solved actually. From the staff/judges vote I actually am motivated to elaborate my concept and keep on working on maps with more than two spawns and do better maps in the future.
Although BA did not win anything it showed good potential overall - besides that one abuse that happened once! I am still super happy that I have been part in this competition and the TLAF Open. Cheers to all fellow mapmakers. Custom mapping just took a huge step no matter what Blizzard will make of it.
Thx to Plexa for continuing support and organization!
OMG yes! Cloud Kingdom won. That user-poll showed it was behind Ohana by over a hundred votes (I know there were other factors) and it made me sad.
As a random player, that map is the one I want to see on the ladder. I haven't played enough, but it might be closely the best map on the official ladder pool if it does become selected.
Well since blizzard is giving away some pretty good prizes for this challenge, it makes me think that they will put at least one of these maps in the ladder pool.... who knows when though. The thing I really hope for is that they take the top two and don't change anything about the maps.
On December 19 2011 21:58 CaptainCrush wrote: Well since blizzard is giving away some pretty good prizes for this challenge, it makes me think that they will put at least one of these maps in the ladder pool.... who knows when though. The thing I really hope for is that they take the top two and don't change anything about the maps.
It's a worthy wish, but expect gold starting bases and destructible debris on your ramp to the natural.
Please Blizzard, take those maps into the ladderpool. Or at least make maps can reach up to the standards of the mapmaking- community. And grats to the winners, they deserve attention for their hard work!
Hmm, I was kind of hoping for Korhal Compound or Ohana. The games I've played and seen on both have been amazing. The ledges in the middle on Cloud Kingdom seem real Terran-friendly. If the terran can seige up there, he can easily control his half of the map without letting you approach the edge of your own half. Either way though, these are all very thoughtful maps, and I hope Blizzard accepts any of them. Great contest, and good job contestants.
On December 19 2011 14:10 Sea_Food wrote: Can we all now agree that 12 base 4 player maps just cant work and are terrible? Still baffeled how 2 of those made the top 7.
Very true. The place positioning in relation to the overall map (distances) is flawed on Burning Altar and Twilight Peaks. So is the base placement on maps like Antiga Shipyard or Nerazim Crypt with the 3rd close by. But that is - as you said - due to 12 base 4p rotational not working. I won't do this in the future I think.
After Reading your comment again, i have to say I strongly disagree! The core concept of 12 bases works. Antiga might not be balanced well regarding positional balance and twilight peak has scaling problems and Burning altar current version has drop and tank issues, but the concept in general works - maybe even best on BA if players get the chance to adept to the center and the need of scouting and towers. You said that a few days ago
Wow! Reading about these maps makes me wish I could play them right now! Hope they do well getting into tournaments! Anyone know whether there's any chance of seeing some new maps in HomeStoryCup next week? Probably wouldn't be enough time for players to practice them, but it would be cool!
Hope we see more of these big mapmaking tournaments in the future, having "the equivalent of a big LAN for mapmaking teams" (as Diamond put it) seems to really have motivated a lot of people. Maybe MLG could do something like this during their offseason and have an online tournament to go with it, and put the winnng map in the next mlg map pool. It can't always be a TL map contest, or that would stop being special.
I really like the flow of Cloud and how the natural and 3rd still interact with the main base. To often the third base is just hanging out there in the middle of no-where waiting to be picked offer or denied. I also like the expanding routes of attack as the game progresses. And limited empty airspace to hide drops, banshees and mutas. I hate maps where there huge areas where you can't even get vision without a flying unit.
I'm so glad that Sanctuary made it! It kinda reminds me of this one brood war map with its bridges (forgot its name [shame on me]) Overall we shall see how they will play out in the long term, but so far they all seem REALLY good.
Such a close decision but GG Superouman - i really, really like your map. It's just amazing and it think the TLMC als whole just pushed mapping to a new state of th art
Congrats to the winners! I'm really glad that they had the SC2 community has provided a way for its members to compete in more ways than just direct game play. This has been a really interesting contest. But you know the best part of this contest? Everyone wins! The whole community can enjoy the fruits of this competition.
On December 20 2011 04:31 Idnan wrote: I'm so glad that Sanctuary made it! It kinda reminds me of this one brood war map with its bridges (forgot its name [shame on me]) Overall we shall see how they will play out in the long term, but so far they all seem REALLY good.
didnt cloud have the really thin higher grounds, that would give advantage to t/p vs z? o.o edit * with extremely limited flanking options, and ez mode FFS if u push along the edges...
these all look so awesome, now if we could only get it to where i could play these maps without a partner... i'm tired of playing custom games on the shattered temple
I'd like to say, thank you for making this map contest and thank you all for giving us so many playable maps. I couldn't be happier than having to play a lot of differents maps instead of the same ones over and over again.
Seriously there's nothing more fun than playing with our practice partners with so many differents maps.
On December 24 2011 03:13 wOrD yO wrote: maps look sweet i hope we can see them introduced into tournament play, nether the less ill still play them.
I personally think Blizzard's biggest possible mistake to make would be not using the winning maps. If not all 5, then the top 2 or 3. These maps are all excellent on a level that Blizzard's maps have yet to achieve, and they all have their own distinctive style, which makes for a much more interesting map pool. Don't get me wrong, Blizzard's been trying to improve their forthcoming maps with their latest 2 entries, but the maps that won this are just on another level.
I sincerely hope Blizzard uses the winners, and eventually holds another contest as well. The announcement of this contest provoked the largest influx of new maps I've ever seen. There can be no denying at this point that we want our work to be noticed. Congratz again to all the winners!
I played a few dozen games on Cloud Kingdom and I love it! More people need to be aware of it :3
I play both Terrand and Zerg on a reasonably high level and I think it's a pretty balanced map overall. Blizzard needs to add it to the ladder mappool. It's a damn shame that blizz is so stupid about it.
woo! grats to the map makers of these maps. Ohana already getting some play in tournaments. Cloud Kingdom now standard in GSL and probably future leagues to follow. and Korhal Compound LE making it into season 6 ladder!
On February 16 2012 07:19 Kazeyonoma wrote: woo! grats to the map makers of these maps. Ohana already getting some play in tournaments. Cloud Kingdom now standard in GSL and probably future leagues to follow. and Korhal Compound LE making it into season 6 ladder!
Cloud Kingdom and Korhal Compound are both season 6 ladder, Ohana season 7.